Decoy



8. KAUFFMAN.

DECOY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 20, i920.

, 1,376,282. Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

a W 13;? r /6 i ii o o f t 7 rmsszs w Sffazz/ffmazz INVENTOR ATTORNEY sv. KAUFFMAN.

DECOY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1920. 7

1,376,282. Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I? ll IUI /0 i /6 I :r'fi: l I f: .r'i-Zi MM 7 I INVENTOR ATYORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SHERMAN KAUFFMAN', OF BROWNVILLE, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD To CHARLES GILLESPIE AND ONE-THIRD TO HOMER GILLESPIE, BOTH OF BROWN- VILLE, NEBRASKA.

DECOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, SHERMAN KAU'FFMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brownville, in the county of Nemaha, and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Decoys, or" which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to decoys for use in hunting ducks and has for its object the provision of a decoy structure including a support carrying a plurality of decoy ducks and so constructed that the ducks will travel in a circular path when the device is anchored in a stream having even a very slight current.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character in which the individual duck supporting members are provided with novel propelling means which will be inoperative when traveling up stream but which will operate to drive the device for rotating the various members on the down stream side.

An additional object is the provision of a device of this character which will be very simple and inexpensive in manufacture, highly ei'iicient in use, durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

lVith the above and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described. and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the device,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof showing it anchored in a stream,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged bottom plan view of one of the duck supporting members,

Fig. i is an enlarged side elevation thereof.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view through the duck supporting member, and

6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the duck supporting member showing the propeller member in diiierent posierring more particularly to the drawg t e letter A designates a stream and v) d signates the bottom thereof. In carryout my invention I provide a preferably disk-shaped piece or" wood 10 having its center provided referably with a wear disk or washer 11. E xtending centrally through ings this disk and the washer is a rod 12 which extends downwardly and which is sharpened so that it may be stuck into the mud or sand of the bottom B whereby to anchor the device.

Extending radially from the disk 10 at equally spaced points, are arms 13, preferably four in number, each of which is formed preferably as a steel rod or piece of heavy wire formed at one end with a loop or eye 14. The disk 10 is provided on its top adjacent its edge with a plurality of guides such as screw-eyes 15 through which the rods 13 extend, and the loops 14 on the ends of the rods are engaged upon the rod 12.

Carried by the outer end of each of the rods 13 is an elongated body 16 of substantially boat-shape and held onto the rod 13 by means of a nut 17 which is embedded within the central portion of the body 16 and which has its bore registering with a transverse hole 18 formed in the body. The outer end of each 'rod 13 is threaded and is passed through the hole 18 and engaged within the nut 17. At its underside the rear end of eaohbody 16 is cut away, as shown at 19, to provide a shoulder 20, and pivoted, as indicated at 21, upon the underside of .each

body at this cut away portion, is a propeller formed as a fiat piece of metal 22 which is so positioned as to engage against the shoulder 20 at certain times.

The decoy members, indicated at 23, are

' secured upon the upper sides of the bodies 16 by any suitable means and these decoy members may be merely sawed out of suitable planking or may be of the conventional decoy duck pattern.

In the use of the device, when it is anchored in a stream as above described, it will be seen that the pressure of the current will go against the propeller blades 22. The member 16 facing the current will swing idle as will also the propellers of the two bodies 16 which are extending directly transversely of the current. The propeller blades 22 of the body 16 which is pointing down stream, will swing against the shoulder 20 and therefore be suspended in vertical depending position so as to receive the pressure of the current which will result in rotating the entire device. As the body carrying this active propeller member is moved down stream and reaches a. point at which it will be directly transverse to the current the propeller member 22 thereon will become idle While the propeller member of the directly opposite member 16 will become active. It will therefore be seen that the device will rotate constantly as long as there is a current of Water. Experimentation has 7 proven the device to be very advantageous as a decoy as the movement of the device is attractive and Well calculated to dispel the natural fears of the ducks to be decoyed.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction, and arrangement or parts as Will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a central supporting block an anchoring rod extending centrally through said block and adapted to be stuck into the bottom of a stream, said block being rotatable upon said anchoring member, a plo rality of radial arms extending from said block, a member carried by the outer end of each arm and supporting a decoy, and a plate pivoted upon the underside of each body and movable in one direction whereby said plates Will serve as propelling means when the device is disposed Within a current.

2. A device of the character described comprising a disk provided with a central hole and a plurality of guides a ranged near its outer edge, an anchoring rod passing journally through said hole and adapted to be stuck into the bottom of a stream a plurality of rods extending through said guides and having their inner ends formed as loops engaged upon said anchor rod, a boat-like member secured upon the outer end oi each radial arm and carrying a decoy, the underside of each of said members being formed with a shoulder, and a plate pivoted upon the underside of each member and freely movable in one direction and engageable with said shoulder whereby to prevent movement in the other direction said plates serving as propelling means When impinged against by a current.

In testimon whereof l: my signature HERMAN KAU FFMAN. 

